I don't know when it was exactly, Maybe it was when you told me The Roots were wack, Maybe it was when you said Pras was the best Fugee, Or maybe it was when you told me you didn't know who Big L was,
But I've finally figured it out: I'm more Hip-Hop than you.
Yeah, it's true. It's finally come through. I'm more Hip-Hop than you
I may have rocked t-shirts and jeans while you were balling out on name brands, I kicked it in Tivas while you went stompin' in your Air force Ones,
But while you were on shopping sprees, I was buying vinyl When you bought guns and jewelry, I invested into savings bonds
I was copping CDs while you were in the club Teaching myself how to recite Masta Ace lyrics from thin air while driving my Maxima -You know, the one with the big ass speaker,- While you were out buying 24s for your gas-guzzling Escalade
I was studying Sugar Hill while you were thinking up words to rhyme with "Fendi", and "Gucci", and "Prada"
I'm not saying I know Hip-Hop. I'm just saying…
"Fuck keeping it old school," I just wanted to know where I came from `Cause anyone with a sense of history knows "No Big Daddy Kane" means "No Jay-Z" "No Run-DMC" means "No Slim Shady" "No Kool Herc and Grandmaster Caz" means "No Hip-Hop. Period."
When you think about it, you can't even spell "Nelly" without two L's
Besides, it costs $15 bucks to get in a club for one night where some asshole DJ ain't gonna play your fucking song no matter fucking what, whereas I could've just as well bought a copy of Afrika Bambaataa's Greatest Hits that I'd listen to for the rest of my life
Because between the two of us, we both know men could give a hot fuck about what's spinning in the booth, the only reason guys to the club is to pick up women or to scoop sum fake .....
Bitches. Skeeos. Chicken-heads. Booty hoes. That is, someone else's daughter or baby-mama.
I'm not saying I know Hip-Hop, I'm just saying…
While you were losing money paying child support, I was saving for studio time.
Which is funny, because while you were macking broads, I was hustling me an education Trying to pimp me some scholarships
While you were waking up next to strangers, I was striking conversations at industry and poetry slams. Doing parties and hittin shows meetin hip hop strangers While you were trying to burn some trees, I was pushing degrees But I've learned MCs aren't concerned really
You see, being a DJ showed me that words do have impact, Unlike you, I want to testify through speakers opposed to preaching to the choir I wanted to improve my grammar so I'd actually be exact
In short, I wanted to be able to spell the words you see
I was saying between "fuck" and "shit" So don't be the one to look down on me Just because all the words I say in plural feel me don't have too end with dollar signs and Z's
I'm not saying I know Hip-Hop, I'm just saying…
I grew up listening to your favorite rappers' favorite rappers.
I was peeping Shante' and MC Lyte when you said yo pleez I'm not "into" female MCs
While you were aiming for the charts, I was cruising through sub-parts like House laced Hip-Hop,ya heard Acid Rap, and Spoken Word I was listening to Hip-Hop out about the beats used by Koreans, About how Techno, R&B, and Hip-Hop merged to create Two-Step in Britain And how incidentally, Two-Step artists who come to the states and "Go Hip-Hop" are considered sell-outs
Because "Hip-Hop's so thirty years ago" I guess that's a nice way of saying I'm stuckin the past.
Of course, now that weve lost all our producers, You want to borrow my records to search for some fresh samples It's bad enough you're not a jack of any trades, but it helps to be the ace of one And I'm not saying I know Hip-Hop, I'm just saying you need to get your priorities straight
'Cause I was busy perfecting the slickest mind Capable of kicking the most intricate and wickedest rhymes Freestyling lyrics designed in the quickest nick of time While you were out getting higher than picket signs in the summer of `69
`Cause I know how to LEAN BACK But DON'T PUSH ME, `CAUSE I'M CLOSE TO THE EDGE and a HARD KNOCK LIFE doesn't move in SLOW MOTION So READY OR NOT, HERE I COME you can HATE ME NOW but I'm STILL NOT A PLAYER
Yeh? Well I'm more progressive trance than you because I was listening to mutha fucking Opus III and no one else even knew what "It's a Fine Day" was until ATB made that retarded Ibiza-tan-fake-boobs remix.
